Translation of Shin Novel Yosho
by USSRman45
Summary: Is about Yosho's life and incident with Ryoko.


**Book 2 YOSHO **

Here is the story of the life of the young Yosho, the first prince of Jurai. The story reveals his days in the Galaxy Academy, which he entered before he went after the Devil of Destruction, Ryoko. The life there revitalized him from his constricted days in the Jurai palace, especially the meeting with a girl named 'Airi' that changed his life.

Since Masaki Yosho Jurai had been born, his standing was in a difficult position. His mother entered the Jurai Family from a different frontier planet, but still was the first wife of the King of Jurai. Also, having a father as the king made the situation more complicated. Once it seemed that the matter was to be settled when Funaho got the second generation Royal Tree, 'Mizuho', and for Misaki 'Karin'. However, though half of the members of the Jurai palace were sympathetic to her, still others took a neutral position or were critical of her. Of course, fifty percent was quite a good number, and, actually, among that of Queens in the past, it was a high level of approval. The problem was that those who were critical of her were relatively of high rank in Jurai. This was expressly shown in the attitude of each Royal family toward Funaho. Among the four families, the Amaki family, which included Shyuzan, stood in the critical position, while the Tatsunoki family was neutral. Under such circumstances, born as the first prince, it was natural that Yosho was concerned with how to help his mother and improve her situation.   
Since he was young, Yosho was always apprehensive for Funaho, and he tried to stay with her as much as he could. He believed that it was the only way to help and protect Funaho in his father's place, who was usually busy with his official work. This was one of the reasons why he named his Royal Tree after her.

He was eight years old when he underwent the ceremony of selecting his tree. Where he found 'Funaho' was the exact place his father, Azusa, made an agreement with his tree 'Kirito' several decades ago. 'Funaho' was quite young compared with the other first generations. Though it was the same size as the second generation trees, the power it possessed inside was unimaginable and outstripped the other first generations. Having a first generation tree means that person owns an absolute power, and for the people of Jurai no one is capable of opposing him. However, for the past several thousand years, the Imperial ships had fought in battle only a few times and the cognizance of the Jurai people to the absolute difference of power between the generation ranks had faded. On the other hand, political power took the place of it and Shyuzan was the representation of this view. Yosho lived in such a world.

One day, Seto came to Yosho's room bringing some kaki and asking for a cup of tea. There, she suggested Yosho enter the Galaxy Academy. It was a sudden and unusual suggestion, but there was of course a reason for this, which was related to the relationship between Yosho and Misaki.

Yosho and Misaki(part1)

"Brother Yosho! Oh, Yosho oni-sama!"  
Crying out, a girl jumped from the window into the room where the son of Azusa, Masaki Yosho Jurai lived. The Imperial families lived in the castle built in a huge tree called the 'Tenjyu' and as a prince of Jurai, Yosho's room was located in a quite high area. But the girl never cared about the height. The girl was like Sasami, when she was younger, having sky blue hair pointing out like a pineapple much like her mother. She had leaves all over her clothes and hair that showed how she had gotten through all those branches.  
She jumped on her brother who was reading a book in his study.  
"Ive got you, Yosho oni-sama!"  
"Aeka, I told you not to come in from the window. If Father knew about this he would be angry with you again."   
Though the accent was strict, Yosho was grinning. By this, his scolding didn't mean anything and Aeka didn't stop laughing.  
"But mother Misaki does it often, too."  
"Oh, no," watching his sister's merry laugh, Yosho sighed.  
It was true. Despite being the second wife of the Jurai King and the mother of Aeka, Misaki was using the Tenjyu's external wall as her walkway. She had been doing it since she was a child and she didn't stop even after she became a mother. An innocent and harmless act it might seem, but for Yosho it was nothing but trouble. And there was a reason...

"Yosho-chan. Good morning!"  
Every morning at the same hour, Misaki came along the wall and showed her face through the window of Yosho's bedroom and called for him in a good-natured voice. Yosho was already 12 years old, and it was embarrassing to be awakened by a woman who was older than he was, especially having his morning toilet watched. The call of nature as a man was not an exception for Yosho, too. "Good morning, Lady Misaki. You look very cheerful today, as usual," replied Yosho with a grin to match her merry smile. If he didn't, she would be disappointed, puff out her cheeks, stick her cold hand under his blanket to tickle him and take off the blanket.  
"Oh no. What if she does -" So as not to show himself, Yosho waited until typhoon Misaki had left his window.  
"A typhoon is much better. One doesnt come every morning."

"Oni-sama. Hey, Yosho oni-sama!"  
"Oh?" Called by Aeka, Yosho turned and apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Aeka. What is it?"  
"I heard mother and mother Funaho talking to each other."  
"You climbed all the way up there again?"  
It was natural for him to be surprised as their room was at the top of the Tenjyu, several hundred meters higher than Yosho's room. Though there was a safety system, she could be injured in any accident.  
"What if you were to fall? And peeking isn't good manners."  
"But..." Yosho laid his finger to Aeka's lips and said to her.  
"It would be terrible if you got hurt. If something happened to you, Utsumi-sama, Seto-sama, father and mother would be pained by it, you know.'  
"You too, oni-sama?" Aeka asked him looking up.  
"Yes, of course."  
"Ok. I won't do it anymore," her cheeks blushing, Aeka said in a small voice.  
"Good girl."  
Wanting to say something, Aeka turned to Yosho again. "You know what?"  
"Hm? What is it?"  
"You know, I - they say that I'm going to marry you. Mother and mother Funaho were talking about it."  
"What?" Aeka's words surprised Yosho. He had imagined such an eventuality, but his reaction to the truth was unexpected, even to himself.  
"Is it true?" Aeka asked.  
"Ye - Yes," Yosho uttered.

It was two weeks later when the fact of the engagement between Yosho and Aeka was discussed at the high council of Jurai. Yosho was 12 years old and Aeka was only four.

The next morning: having the sun shining on his cheeks, Yosho sighed in his bed.  
"It's about time -- Ah, here she comes."  
The sound of Misaki's steps was heard from the sidewall of the Tenjyu. Usually she slammed the window and jumped into Yosho's room, but that day the noise of the leaves scraping stopped just in front of the window.  
In wonder, Yosho turned to the window. He could not see Misaki, but instead he heard her hesitating voice.  
"Yosho-chan - No - Yosho-dono. Are you awake?"

"Yes. Good morning, Misaki-sama." "As from today I'll not be able to wake you up. I'm sorry."  
"Er, no. I can wake up by myself already. Please do not concern yourself about it."  
"You're right. You are already a man. Good-bye then, Yosho-dono."  
The sound of moving along the sidewall faded. It could not have been her idea to make such a decision. She would never call him "dono" and not "chan". Thinking about it, Yosho understood that Seto must have said something to her about him.  
Listening to the sound getting smaller, Yosho sighed.  
However, Yosho did not notice that this sigh was not one of relief. He did not realize his true feelings. Yosho, being 12 years old, was already a man but still a boy.

What made Yosho first note his feeling were the events of that evening. The bell rang that night, informing him of a visitor.   
"Who is it?"  
Replying to Yosho's words, the shy voice of Aeka came in.  
"Oni-sama."  
"Is it you, Aeka? It is surprising coming from the front door. Oh, come in."

Usually Aeka would come in showing a full smile on her face. But this time there was no sign of the door opening. Yosho closed the book he was reading and stood up in wonder.  
"What's wrong? You are really quiet today - hm?"

Opening the door, Yosho gasped seeing Aeka. There stood Aeka, having her hair all in dark purple and the sticking out hairstyle was changed in a gentle and beautiful way.  
"Aeka - what happened to your hair -?"  
Yosho never saw the childhood of his mother Funaho, and had only seen pictures of her older than 14, but he imagined that Funaho would have been much like the girl standing in front of him when she was young. Then he noticed that Aeka must have changed her hair element by genetic surgery to be closer to her fathers, which was more similar to Funaho's, in order to be an ideal woman for Yosho.  
_It's true that I think of mother as my ideal woman. But..._  
In a diffident but firm way she looked up and asked, "Yosho, oni-sama. Is Aekas hair style

- strange?"  
"Didnt Misaki-sama say anything about it?"  
"Cute she said and hugged me and didn't let me go for an hour."  
"I see. You look very nice, Aeka."  
In spite of his words, something twitched inside his heart. He noticed that it was the same pain he had felt since he had heard about the engagement from Aeka, though he still did not know the reason for it. He did not dislike Aeka. He had considered his mother's situation and accepted the marriage. Who would not love a young sister who yearns with a pure heart?  
But the pain continued. It singed his heart.  
Not to let her notice his feelings, Yosho smiled at Aeka and said, "You really are cute."  
"Thank you, oni-sama. I'll show everyone my hair style!"  
"Okay."  
She must have been so happy to be praised by her brother, Aeka nodded in pleasure and ran out through the hall. As mother and daughter, her style of running away looked just like Misaki.  
Suddenly a shadow passed over Yosho's face. He now knew his real feelings.

The next morning Yosho woke up as usual and heard Misaki passing through the leaves of the Tenjyu approaching his room. Imagining his surprised face at being awakened, Misaki must be laughing by now. Yosho's heart beat rapidly. The sound stopped just beside the window.  
_-Yosho-chan! Good morning!-_ laughing merrily Misaki would cry out.  
The intention of Yosho came to a peak. - _Yes, usually it was so_ -.  
But now --.  
"Good morning Yosho-dono." Not showing herself, Misaki called to him from behind the wall -- not in her usual merry voice, but in a low tone as yesterday.  
"Good morning, Misaki-sama."  
Yosho replied, pretending to be calm and trying not to reveal his feelings. He held from springing out from the bed and dashing to the window side. Without another word Misaki moved away.  
Yosho felt his eyes begin to water. The tears dropped from his cheeks and changed the color of his pillow. Trembling, Yosho whispered, "Misaki-sama."  
He did not move till the sound of the leaves made by Misaki faded.

It was soon after that Seto suggested to Yosho he should enter the Galaxy Academy. She told him that he would have a nice time there and be able to straighten out his feelings. Yosho understood what she meant, and was astonished that she knew about the situation. He accepted.

The Academy(part 2)

During Yoshos stay in the academy, his life changed a great deal. Living in the palace and trying to protect his mother had made him keen, but on the other hand, he seldom showed his emotions. Then he met a girl, whose name was 'Airi'. By the effort of Airi and others, he bit by bit learned to express his feelings.

Yosho and Airi(part 3)

Two weeks after his meeting with Seto, he entered the dock of the Galaxy Academy in his ship 'Funaho', though it was disguised so as not to be noticed as an Imperial ship of Jurai. The Galaxy Academy was composed of one entire star system, having different kinds of departments on each planet. Thousands of students and researchers came to join it from all over the galaxy and Yosho was to be one of them. When Yosho got off his ship, only a girl was waiting there to greet him. Her name was 'Airi' and she was to be his senior during his stay. Each time a new student entered the academy one senior would be assigned to take care of him or her. Later that night a huge party was held for Yosho as a new student. In the academy they liked such surprise parties and they held one each time a new student arrived.

Airi was a girl who reminded Yosho of Seto and Misaki, and Yosho felt affection for her. On the other hand, though Yosho was very friendly to the other students, he still possessed a pointed and constraining thing inside him. Trained as a prince of Jurai, and for the influence of his mother's situation, he always had a deliberate nature. He did not show much of his emotions. Airi decided that the first thing she must do is to make him relax and pull out his true feelings.

Several days after Yosho came to the academy, he asked her to show him around, and that was like a first date for them.

Airi was 15 years old and Yosho 12. As usual, girls grow faster in their early years and they looked very much like sister and brother.  
"Ok. Lets go!"  
Using the schedule paper that Yosho had made, Airi went on and on without any problems showing him around. Naturally there was another objective for him in planning his course. Since he had arrived at the academy, he found that several spies were chasing them. During the excursion, he attempted to find them by using Funaho, scanning from above. He knew that it would be difficult to find all of them in one day, so he made up an itinerary that would take several days. However, watching Airi going on at a tremendous pace, he was getting worried. If she finished all of them in a day, his plan will end up meaningless.  
"Er--, next will be-. Yes, lets go to this one! How about it?"

Not knowing of Yosho's plan, Airi grabbed his hand and moved on.  
"Please Airi-dono. We don't have to be in such a hurry."  
"Oh, what are you doing! Keep moving. We can't finish all of them today if you are so slow!"

"We don't have to be through it in a day," Yosho tried to explain, but she never slackened her pace.

"Ok, next, next, next!"  
Yosho suspected that she might know everything and was doing this purposely, but watching her bright smile, he threw out that idea, her smile was so beautiful. On the other hand, he felt guilty for what he was trying to do.  
After all, they accomplished the schedule by that evening.  
"Huff!"  
Ending in the park where they first started that day, Airi laid down on the lawn out of breath.  
"Are you all right?" Yosho asked her, then used his fan to cool her.  
"Yo-Yosho-kun. You look - whew- all right."  
Still breathing heavily, Airi looked at him a bit mortified, and tried to sit up.  
"Better rest a bit more."  
"It's so hot!"

Crawling she moved inside the shadow of the tree.  
"Fan me some more."  
"Yes."  
Lying again on the lawn, Airi ordered him to fan. Under the breeze and the sunshine though the leaves, she murmured, "You think I'm a nice old lady, don't you?"  
"Huh?"  
"It's okay. After all I'm older than you by three years and four months. No wonder you think so about me."  
Just before she was angry, and now she was being petty.  
"I didn't say such a thing."  
"But you think so, don't you?"  
"Of course not," said Yosho calmly and gently. Those like Airi often looked for something and worried with it till they were satisfied. All you had to do was to honestly and patiently out wait them. "It's no wonder you are tired, running about like that."  
"Then why are you all right? You haven't even lost your breath."  
"I am trained so."  
Listening to Yosho's words, anger disappeared from Airi's eyes. She then looked at him in

silence.  
"Oh, show a bitter face! At least just a bit -- you look so smug. You fool!" Airi smiled sadly, gently nipping Yosho's cheek. She understood well what kind of world this 12-year old boy had lived in and the way he acted seemed very lonely to her.  
"Poor Yosho-kun."  
"Huh..."  
He couldn't say anything to her and had to let her do what she wanted. He didn't think that the word 'poor' applied to him. He was the prince of Jurai. Of course there was conflict with his mother and the others, but he willingly wanted to protect her from it. Did that mean poor?  
Watching him think such things, Airi suddenly woke up.  
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. LAUGH!" she cried and struck him on the head.  
"Cry!" she screamed, tickling him all over.  
"Get angry, you little shit! Ahhh!" Airi cried out as she embraced him.

What she was saying and doing were absolutely opposite. Those who were watching this odd and noisy occurrence just gave them a glance.  
"Ah. Airi is doing it again."  
"Who is the poor guy this time?" "Oh my, Airi, you are always noisy."  
That was what Yosho could hear. It seemed such acting was a popular thing for them.  
"You are only 12 years old! Just show your emotions as a boy, get iiiiiiiiit?" she cried.  
Next Airi placed him in a hold called the "cobra twist". She went on, unrelenting.  
"Everyone is watching! Please stop it. It's indecorous," Yosho whispered in pain.  
He could have got out of it with a bit of his strength without hurting her, but he didn't and accepted her actions because he somewhat understood Airi's feelings.  
"Damn. Say something. At least yelp a bit."

Puffing her cheeks out crossly, Airi sat down beside Yosho.  
"I cannot yelp in front of everyone."  
"Okay then, that's that. - Say, why are you doing that?" she asked, pointing at Yosho's legs. Yosho was sitting in a way called Seiza.  
"In these cases, I have to wait till the senior accepts it."  
Hearing this, Airi straightened her skirt.  
"Oh, -- staying with you it's I who looks embarrassing."  
"Huh? I am sorry but I could not hear you. Would you mind repeating that please?'  
"Oh. No, nothing. It's my story."  
"Oh. I see."  
"Yeah."  
Then suddenly the conversation paused. Silence went on until the bell rang telling them that it was five o'clock. Having an occasion to talk, Airi asked him with relief.  
"He- He. If you have nothing to do after this, how about having dinner?"

"Lets have it in the restaurant we just visited."  
She shook her head.

"I know a nice place around here. Go to that expensive one when you want to put on airs with your girl friend."  
Having rested, Airi was recovered and pulled Yosho about as she did earlier.  
"Airi-dono. You do not have to hurry."  
The more Yosho pleaded, the more she increased her pace. After awhile they were running, threading their way through the crowd.  
The restaurant Airi brought Yosho to was called 'Narsis', and was located on the second floor of a huge shopping mall just beside the park. The restaurant itself was not special, and a very common place to have a meal. However, taken to the terrace, Yosho had his eyes knocked out by the magnificence of the sight.  
"What in thunder is this?"  
Before him was a hole, tens of kilometers across, with a depth of 700 meters. Just below him was a steep cliff, and at the bottom was a sea, filling the entire hole. Looking at this, he scanned his map in a hurry, but no information was listed on it (the existence of the hole itself was not located on the map). Only a red mark showing that this area was top secret was there. Such places, where significantly important research institutes were located, were not shown on the map. Moreover, an optical process was performed on the area so it could not even be seen from above.  
"Are you surprised? Isn't it great?"

Watching Yosho's surprise, Airi looked quite pleased.  
"But, isnt this a sealed off area?" "Where can a shopping center be built in a sealed off area? The meaning on the map is that it is a secret place."  
"Secret?"  
"Tee-hee! Don't you get it? You see, this place is hidden to surprise the first visitors," said Airi in delight, enjoying the moment.  
"To surprise the beginners? Only - for that?"  
"Yes. Only for that. It's just a tease, you see."  
"Is it not too -- large?'  
"Ha-ha. Yosho-kun, the Galaxy Academy is a huge place, you know," she answered, straightening her face. But her expression just suggested the essence of the galaxy academy.  
"It's something to surprise others. They give you these kinds of places and the students think and make up the act. You can just show him here or you can prepare a large play and surprise

him."  
According to Airi's explanation, this 50-kilometer crater was made by the explosion of an experimental device. In fact, the one who made this crater was no one else but the greatest professor of the galaxy academy, Professor Washu. The hole was to be repaired in time, but the students who were plagued by... excuse me.. loved by Washu held a great campaign and tried to keep the crater intact.  
"Huge? This is nothing. It's just a pore," Washu had said.  
So the students took to this and named the crater "Washu's Pore". It was a terrible name, which was very like the students of the academy.  
Watching the scene outside the window, Airi muttered, "The area of the crater is all for the department of philosophy."  
"The department of philosophy?"  
It was no wonder for Yosho to be surprised. The philosophy department was where the results of all the other departments were gathered. There they tried to make up an entire integrated theory or decide the morality of the use of such knowledge. It was also the place where the most intelligent persons wound up from the galaxy academy.  
"I see. If it's for the department of philosophy, then I understand the size."  
"No. This is only a part of the department and, actually, it is only for one scientist."  
"Only for one? A single person is using this whole institute?"  
"For a philosopher, it's usual. But for this place, the situation is a bit special. This place is also a memorial."  
"A memorial?'  
"I think you have heard about them. The greatest in the academys history, the legendary philosopher, Hakubi Washu and Akara Najya. This part is a memorial for them."  
"I know about Hakubi Washu, but Akara Najya? I think I have never heard about her."  
"Well, she often worked in the background as the assistant. If you are interested in her then I'll show you around next time. That place is like my backyard and I know it well. Though the philosopher living there is quite an old man. He sometimes keeps you for tea and goes on talking for hours about the old days," said Airi, showing a smile which meant that she had experienced it.   
Yosho watched her smile for a while, until the dishes were served. They smelled delicious.  
"Welcome Airi. So this is the guy from Jurai. It's unusual for you to take a month to bring him here," laughed the waitress who brought the dishes. "Oh, no ma-am, he is the next guy." "My name is Masaki Yosho Jurai. Nice to meet you."

Figuring that she was Airis friend, Yosho stood up and bowed to her.  
"Oh, my! Isn't he so polite. My name is Carsa Iglie, the mistress of this restaurant. But having Jurai on your full name means that-."  
"He is a prince of Jurai," said Airi.  
"I see. Then it's only the third day now. Hmm."  
Watching Yosho, she served the dished on the table neatly. This place was Airi's favorite. She wouldnt bring anyone till she knocked them into shape. Usually it took about two weeks, and most of the students ran away before then.  
Airi spoke to Yosho who was looking at the dishes.  
"The menu here is relatively suitable for any culture, I think. How is it?'  
Students came from all over the galaxy and they had their own tastes. Some retired from the academy because they couldn't deal with the foods, though mostly because of their religious

practices.  
"Jurai used to be a multi-ethnic place. So any food will be all right for me. There is no discipline of religion."  
"Really? Im glad to hear that," said Airi in a happy voice and they started their dinner. Actually, the dishes served here tasted better than the dormitory food, and it gave them a good feeling.  
"Airi-dono, are you looking after other students too?" Yosho asked her during the meal.  
"No. Only you," she replied, then paused. "Oh! I see. So you're talking about the guy Iglie

meant."  
After having a sip of tea she continued.  
"Yes, I advised him before, but he requested another senior. And after that I haven't seen him. Well, it's often the case for me, you know."  
"I see."  
Watching Airi laughs, Yosho was sure that the guy she mentioned was Amaki.  
After that, they talked for a while about their hobbies or favorites and so on. Finishing their meal they both stood up and moved to the cash desk.  
"Yosho-kun. Please wait outside. I'll pay the bill."  
"It is I who invited you. Please let me."  
"Oh no, what are you saying? You're here using your government's money and you shouldn't waste it. Anyway, I'm not happy using the money from your parents."  
"Is it not the same for you?"  
"I'm working for myself. So leave it to me," said Airi and picked Yosho's forehead with her finger.   
As a prince, Yosho had one planet as his own and he earned the money from there. The fee for the academy was from its revenues, too.  
_If I say that is why it is my own money, I am sure she will bash me._  
She would never accept that as income of his own.  
Finishing her payment she walked to him and said, "Sorry to make you wait. Let's go

home."  
"It was wonderful. Thank you for everything."  
"No problem."  
"May I ask you a question?" "What?"  
"Why are you working? You actually don't need to, do you?" "Hmm. Well, to show my opinion, I guess."  
"Your own?"  
"And to be free," said Airi looking up the sky, which was already dark now. She did not show it on her face, but Yosho felt that she looked somewhat sad.  
"Is it not hard? Doing your studies and also being my guide."  
"No at all, I'm used to it now. And Yosho-kun , you are a good student. But there is a problem actually."  
"Oh, my. Have I troubled you?"  
"You are so cute and sweet that I can't release my stress, you know," said Airi tightening her fist and looking up the sky just as she did at the airport when he first met her.  
"I thought you had done quite a lot to me in the park."  
"Hahahaha. No, no. That's not enough for me," Airi laughed merrily and, watching her, Yosho began to laugh with her.  
"Perhaps I'll start working too."  
"Well, thats good. The easiest way is to let them perform experiments on you."  
"Oh no! You are not...," Yosho stopped and looked at her.  
"No, I'm not. You dont know what they'll do to you here. I'm just teaching the primary school students. Three, I think, is all now."  
Talking to him about it reminded Airi who suddenly looked at her watch.  
"Oh, no. It's time to teach. I have to go now. See you, Yosho-kun. It was fun today."  
"Good luck in your work."  
They said goodbye to each other and parted at the station.

The Academy(part 3)

After this, Yosho was forced to meet another Jurai noble, Amaki, the youngster who Airi

had been teaching. Yosho did not think much of it, but he thought Amaki might be here for

other reasons than education.

One day much later, several spies attacked Airi. They had advised her not to meet with Yosho before then by mail, but she had ignored the threats and now they took action. Her Guardian and theirs started to battle. Unfortunately, before she was able to set the strength level of her Guardian to maximum, one of the spies reached her and was threatening her when a voice came from nowhere. An unknown Guardian appeared. This Guardian was far stronger and defeated the spies.

The unknown voice was that of Funaho, the imperial ship of Yosho, talking through the ring Yosho had given to Airi. He had made it himself and given it to her as a present, guessing such a situation might occur. The Guardian also was one of Funahos, which explained why it was so

powerful, considering it came from a first generation Royal tree. But Airi didn't know this and rushed up to Yosho's room and told him all about what had happened. She did suspect that the ring Yosho gave her was related to all of this and she cross-examined him. Yosho gave up and decided to tell her about Funaho and asked her to meet him at the space harbor that night.

Airi and Funaho(part 4)

It seemed the final ship had already left and there was no sign of anyone else in the port. Using the terminal of Funaho and entering the lobby, Yosho felt the air of someone's presence.  
"Hello. I'm sorry to be late," said Yosho with a smile.  
"It seems that you were able to get out from the dormitory without any problem," replied Airi coming from behind a pillar.  
"Yes. But I was surprised that no one confronted me on my way here. Several persons did pass and notice me."  
"Ha, ha, ha. There is none who would confront you after youve managed to get out from the dormitory security check. Of course, it doesn't mean that you can enter all places, but, well, some one will stop you when you try to get into such areas. If that happens, leave. Get it? Or the guard will get you. If you're unlucky, you may be captured by the human hunters."  
"Human hunters?"  
"It's just a nickname. Those who are looking for guinea pigs. Oh, that's not the point. Lets go!"  
"You started this, Airi-dono. Well, this way please."  
He brought her to the ship 'Funaho', which returned from planetary orbit, and they got inside. Moving through the passage way where only the emergency lamps were lit, they arrived at the bridge.  
"Hey, Yosho-kun. You are not going to say that the ship's main computer was the one who talked to me?"  
"Uh?" To have her guess he was going to tell her that shook Yosho.  
"You are not going to say I'm right, are you?"  
"Youve got it."  
"I'm going home," said Airi angrily and turned to the door and tried to get out. Yosho grabbed her in a hurry.  
"Wa-wait a moment, please. You have come all the way here and..."  
"You see, when I first heard that voice, I really expected something. And now you say that it's the voice of a computer. It's not fair." Her accent was angry, but she looked very disappointed.  
"Wha-what did you really expect, Airi-dono?"  
"I... Th - the Royal tree. With a tremendous power and high knowledge. The children of the Jurai's patron god, the primogenitor, Tsunami."  
"I see. So that's what this is all about."  
Then a giggle was heard and Airi looked up.   
"Yosho-kun, it's rude of you to lau -."  
"Tee-hee,he,he,he..."  
The voice directly came into Airi's mind just as it did the last time.  
"Airi, Airi. Tee-hee."  
"This- this voice..."  
"It is the voice that you expected," said Yosho and then Airi was transported to the imperial lobby, the real main bridge of the ship. Airi was now surrounded by clean and sweet air and she smelled the fragrance of the grasses and trees. It was a place where light and sound were dancing. Through the leaves of the trees, lights gleamed in gold and silver and with it a lovely music was gently heard.

It was as if the trees were singing. Thinking so, Airi was startled and said, "Yosho-kun. This place is not...?"  
"I would like to introduce her to you. The first generation Royal tree, Funaho."  
The number of lights increased and it got brighter.  
"Hello. Hello. Airi, Airi, Airi."  
Lights rushed around Airi.  
"Oh my!"

An admiring voice came from Airi's mouth and she kneeled.  
"Please tell me. What kind of being are you?' Airi shouted to the lights. Yosho was surprised at the extremity of her voice.  
"What is the matter, Airi-dono?"  
"Is primogenitor Tsunami one of the three goddesses?"  
It seemed that she was not listening to him, and as if she was facing a god, Airi looked up at Funaho with her hands held at her breast. It was just like a god coming down from the heavens.  
Suddenly the lights vanished and silence surrounded them. It was as if this was the answer of Funaho to Airi's question.  
"Oh, Funaho, Funaho-sama! I beg you, please answer me!"  
"Airi! Airi-dono!"  
"Yosho-kun, I..."  
Airi was despondent and dropped her hands.

Yosho helped her walk to the bench just beside the unit device to grow the tree. Airi was breathing roughly in excitement and anxiety.  
"Are you all right?" asked Yosho.  
"Yes. I'm sorry... I'm so -- sorry."  
"What were you trying to ask the Royal tree? Of Funaho? If you do not mind, please," said Yosho to Airi, but she did not answer.  
"Airi-dono?" he prompted.

After a long silence, Airi began to talk as if she were confessing to Yosho.  
"I want to find a god," Airi sighed.  
"A god?"  
"Yes. If possible, the three goddesses."  
"Did you say the three goddesses?"  
"Yes - though it may be better to say a high dimensional intelligent life form. Because of their power, they are called gods even now in this developed world. Especially..."  
"In religions."  
"Yes, youre right. High dimensional intelligent life forms have been reported several times in the past, but they hardly ever show up in front of us. I have studied in the Galaxy Academy and found that even with the data collected from the relics of the prehistoric civilization, there are only 28 examples of encounters. However, among high dimensional intelligent life forms who have surpassing powers, I found that it appears that there are three goddesses who have far more power and special abilities."  
"Appears?"  
"Yes. Gathering the information from the ancient civilization and formulating the data, it's possible to divide them into three patterns."  
"That is a bit unclear. Is there not enough information written on it?"

"No. The experience of the encounters with other high dimensional intelligent life forms is known quite concretely. If not, it wouldn't be admitted as an encounter.'  
"Then..."  
"We have it. We do have the data," said Airi, interrupting Yosho's words. "We have the data, that we can't -- understand them."  
"Cannot understand?'  
"Yes, that's it. They do exist, but they don't. We could see them, but they do not exist. It is written clearly so," Airi said, and waited for Yosho's reply.  
"The light hawk wings..."  
Airi nodded at his words. The light hawk wings were not detectible as any kind of energy pattern, but it existed as a light in reality. She wanted to say that the light hawk wings, which could be created by Royal trees higher than the third generation, was the expression of the three goddesses power.  
"Sometimes science has a cruel result. The action of trying to know the truth destroys the truth itself. The gods, having their veil taken away, lost their powers within man's heart. And for that, mankind had to do what they had done for us. Gods are eternal, but we are not. One might have great charisma, but a man will one day die. If he dies, he will no longer be a god."  
"You are talking about the former hierarch, aren't you?"  
"That's right. My great-grandfather spread the teaching of Airai through the galaxy and made it the largest religion. But to maintain a huge domain, it is indispensable to have a powerful idol. The hierarch conference first looked for it in the blood. They made a hero of my grandfather and my father, as one taking over great-grandfather's charisma. But you see, parties began to be built inside the conference and then it started to get difficult to keep this system. They tried to apotheosize my great-grandfather and create a new god, but this is possible only if there is an absolute god. That is why the conference sought an absolute idol, an explicit god. They wanted the Jurain's goddess, Tsunami."  
"What!"  
It was a shocking confession.  
"You don't have any believers of Airai in Jurai," said Airi. "But that's natural. You have a real god in Jurai. That's why the conference tried its mission to Jurai and thought to make Tsunami the god of Airai.'  
"You too, Airi-dono?"  
"When I was in Airai, I did think so. Tsunami was the god of Airai and Jurai was keeping her only for themselves."

This was Airi's confession. It got hard for her to look at Yosho and she turned away.  
"But when I came to the Galaxy Academy, I met a lot of people, and those whom I have hated or distrusted were very kind to me and - my point of view just fell down. I was embarrassed for what I had wanted to do, and for the lie, which the conference was teaching to the people. Isn't it funny? We started this to protect the church and then the process just turned out to be the object, although it was opposite to our discipline. But this is all because we don't have a real god."  
"Is that why you wanted Tsunami?"  
"Tsunami-sama is Jurai's. It will only be a reason for conflict. But we can look for one of the other two goddesses, and maybe Tsunami-sama knows something about it. I just thought so... But it's no good. Funaho-sama has also thrown me over..."

Airi, holding back the tears, sobbed with her hands on her face. She was between her home country and her friends and beset by it. Noticing her distress, Airi looked sweet to Yosho and he caressed her hair.  
And Funaho felt the same way Yosho did.  
"Airi, Airi, please don't cry."  
The voice of Funaho coming into their minds was sad as if she synchronized with Airi's feelings.  
"Huh?" Airi lifted her face and looked up at Funaho.  
"Airi-dono. Funaho is not a god. No, even though she may have the powers of a god, she cannot be the god you expect, and she would not desire to be one. The first King of Jurai who met Tsunami said it like this, We have become friends."  
"Friends? With Tsunami-sama?"  
"Airi, Airi, please don't cry."  
To Funaho's worried voice, Yosho lifted his hand and told her it was all right.

"Airi-dono, it is the same for us, Funaho and I. We became friends. Just now, she did not put you away, she was just surprised, suddenly begged so. Yes, that's right, just like a puppy hiding behind a tree can. Then she got worried about you and put her head outside."  
"Airi, Airi, don't cry, Airi."  
The pulsation of Funaho's pure sorrow came into Airi's heart and the grief in her slowly disappeared.   
"Airi, Airi..."  
"Don't cry, Funaho. I'm all right now. See?" said Airi wiping her tears.  
"Really? You won't cry anymore?"  
"Yes, I'm all right. I am," said Airi, smiling to her.  
"Tee-hee. Airi smiles," giggled Funaho.  
To Funaho's tickling pulsation of joy, Airi smiled brightly. She found that the dance of the lights of Funaho started up again.  
"It's so beautiful, Funaho." She laughed.  
"Airi laughed. Airi..."  
Airi threw her arms above her head and lights gathered around her. Funaho was not a god, but the lights surrounding Airi were god's miracle itself.  
"Once it starts it goes on forever," murmured Yosho, watching them, and smiled.  
Slowly a melody started to flow in.  
The song of Funaho covered Airi.

The Academy(part 5)

Several months had passed since Airi met Funaho, and it was already half a year since Yosho entered the academy. In that time, Yosho had become milder than before, though not so obviously. But at least his sharp eyes had been softened. The days living with Airi had let him experience the life of a normal boy.  
One day there was a message from Seto to Yosho. She told him to return to Jurai at once and stay there for half a year. After that, he could come back to the academy. Airi and Yosho were surprised at this, as they could not understand why she made such a demand. Seto had guessed that the days in the academy would be a good experience for him, but on the other hand it would also make him soft. As a prince of Jurai such a situation was not tolerable. For this reason, she suggested that Yosho should stay half a year in Jurai and half in the academy.

Puppies(part 6)

After preparing for the brief return to Jurai, Yosho came back to Funaho. Transferred to the hall where the Royal tree was located, he found Airi there.  
"What are you doing?" asked Yosho.  
Around Funaho there were dozens of puppies running all about, and in the middle was a delighted Airi. Yosho walked up to her.  
"Er..."  
"Oh. At last you are back," said Airi in a cold voice. "I thought that you would be home earlier. Didn't we, darling?'  
It was just like a wife complaining to her husband who was busy with his work and did not care much for his wife. Of course, as a 13 year old boy, Yosho was not able to understand what she was saying and Airi also did not expect him to do so. It was just a joke of hers to the younger boy.  
"I am sorry. Are these puppies Funaho?" asked Yosho.  
"Yes, that's right. I wanted to try it once. You were late so I thought it was a nice chance," said Airi, giggling and hugging one of the puppies which Funaho mimicked. Funaho reacted to her emotion of joy, and all the puppies running all about suddenly dashed up to Airi and Yosho. An enormous number of puppies covered them.  
"No, Funaho! Stop!" cried out Yosho.  
Airi only laughed loudly.  
To the soft touch of the puppies and the tickling emotions pulsating from Funaho, Airi drifted into a dreamy condition. Covered by the puppies, the two of them touched slightly.  
"I'll not forget this," thought Airi, "I'll not forget this till he comes back in half a year."

Utsumi and Seto(part 7)

One week later, Yosho returned to Jurai. Misaki came to his room and told him to join her, with Utsumi and Seto, in going to the campus of the Jurai Imperial Academy. There was a ceremony for the departure of the students on their practice sails. They would attend it as the family of Kamiki and Seto wanted him to come with them. It was spring and the flowers were all blooming.  
"I love to watch this view every year," said Seto to Yosho as they passed the garden near the academy. She looked at the view in pleasure, but Utsumi standing beside her kept silent and didn't say anything. Yosho, who was in between them, looked at Utsumi and noted he seemed in a sour mood.

"Seto-sama," Yosho asked, "why have you asked me to join you today?"  
But Seto ignored his question and faced her husband.  
"My dear. I will finish my business with Misaki and Yosho. Please go to the ceremony before us. We will join you later."  
"Why, yes. But I was planning to show Yosho around here. It is a nice chance, you know. It would be good to introduce him to some of the teachers," replied Utsumi gravely.  
Listening to this, Seto looked at him and laughed. "You can do it after the ceremony."

"Azusa... er... the king has been here before and many persons are looking forward to seeing his son."

Utsumi seemed concerned about something. Watching them, Yosho guessed there was an ulterior reason and suggested, "Then shall I join Utsumi-sama?"  
He didn't know why, but he thought it would be better to join Utsumi now. To this, Utsumi showed a smile of rest.  
"Okay, then. Let's go. I'll show you a lot of nice places."  
"Thank you, Utsumi-sama."  
"Oh, you are so sweet, Yosho," said Seto. She of course knew what her husband was trying to do. "But no. This must be finished before the ceremony."  
"Then we will go to the ceremony first. You can go with Misaki," said Utsumi.  
"It is related to Yosho-dono, too, my darling."  
As if taking off a man's fingers one by one who was holding on hard to the cliff edge, Seto kept on attacking Utsumi.  
"All right then, I will go with you all."  
When Utsumi said so, Misaki got around him and caught his arms while Seto grabbed Yosho by his shoulders.  
"You see, Yosho-chan. (sniff) I was molested by him here," complained Seto to Yosho.

Of course this was a lie.  
"What! What the hell are you saying!" Utsumi cried out, his face going red.  
Utsumi had lost his composure. But no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get away from Misaki holding him from behind. Poor Utsumi, Misaki was stronger than him now. Following up, Seto began to tell Yosho the tale, her cheeks blushing.  
"Yes, that day also the flowers were blooming. I was having a nap in the bushes and then suddenly, something fell on top of me.'  
"Oh no! Why are you telling that to this boy!"  
As Utsumi didn't deny this, it seemed that this part was true.  
"I tried to resist as hard as I could. But what could a delicate woman do?" said Seto and she wiped her tears with Yosho's sleeve.  
"Delicate? Don't tell a lie! You grimalkin!"  
No one could deny that statement.  
"And then to my breast his hand..."  
"Nooo! Seto was sleeping and I just caught my foot on her. That's why I fell on her! That's all!" cried out Utsumi.  
"But you touched my breast."  
"It was an accident. I couldn't help it when I fell on you! Anyway, it was all because of you. You didn't appear at the entrance ceremony and I was told to look for you! And... and you were sleeping in the bushes comfortably. First of all, I was only 9 years old!"  
He didn't notice it, but he was now telling the tale to Yosho.  
"By the way, mother was 4,500 years old then," said Misaki.

Seto popped her on the head.  
"Oh, shut up!" snapped Seto.  
"Ouch." Misaki looked back to her mother. But she did not let her father go even then.

"But I really was surprised. It had been a long time since I was touched," said Seto returning to a graceful lady's face from the strict and scary one. She blushed her cheeks and leaned on Yosho. As she was a beauty, it was a sexy view, but seeing her strict face when she hit Misaki, no man would feel attracted to her now.  
"Of course not! Who would meddle with the The Terrifying Princess of Jurai" if they cared for their life,' blurted out Utsumi, which Yosho tried not to laugh at.  
"Oh, Yosho-chan, that furry bear is teasing me. He must have forgotten what he did to me. Boo-hoo," wept Seto and hung on tightly to Yosho.  
"Yo-You... I was only a boy when I tripped over you. You just said, Because of you, I can't marry any more. Please take the responsibility for it with a straight face."  
"It was only a joke," replied Seto.  
"How could a 9-year old boy understand that! Did you know that I could not eat for over a month out of fear?"  
"And you went into the hospital because of malnutrition," laughed Misaki.  
"Yes, yes that's right! After that, for 130 years I trained my self. And finally I was able to find the courage to talk with you face to face. So I told you I would take care of you. Then you, then you said..."  
"What? What did you say?" Yosho asked.  
To Yosho's question, Seto showed her tongue and said, "I laughed. You see, he just suddenly proposed to me without saying anything after 130 years."  
"If I had known what you were like, it would have taken more then 130 years!'  
Yosho remembered that most of the old people remarked to him that Seto was really

intimidating. Being satisfied, Seto nodded and faced Yosho with a smile.  
"So that was what he was worried about and was why he wanted to take you with him. He thought I would tell you about this. Well, he told you by himself after all."  
"Er, I see," answered Yosho, and glanced at Utsumi. There he was, finding that he had told all the secrets by himself and was knocked out.  
"So you told all about it and now there's nothing to worry about, darling. Let's go, Yosho-chan."  
Pressed by Seto, Yosho started to walk again. A few steps later he looked back and found poor Utsumi sinking to the ground. Now he understood many things in many ways; why his father tread lightly when he dealt with Seto; why others who knew Seto well were afraid of her and why she was called The Terrifying Princess of Jurai.  
_I didn't want to understand it this way, but I must take care, too_ thought Yosho. After watching Utsumi, he couldn't help thinking so.

P.S. Just not to make any misunderstanding. Seto and Utsumi love each other deeply. There are many places where Seto shows love to him and really cares about him.

Dual Fates(part 8)  
Several years have passed since Yosho first entered the academy. The young man kept returning to Jurai for half a year and then coming back to the academy. Airi tried her best while he stayed in the academy to make him relax and act like a normal boy, but after his stay in Jurai, he returned to what he used to be, keen and tightly strung.

Then, there was a call from Airi's home planet, Airai, to her. It was from her father, Gaira and the second minister of Airai, Goba. Goba told her that her engagement had been carried out favorably and she was to come back at once for her wedding. She was surprised, but she could not refuse as her father was old and ill -- she must obey the second minister's command as the daughter of Airai. The only thing she cared about was that Yosho was still in Jurai for his half-a- year stay, and she might not be able to meet him before her departure, for she would never be able

to after she returned to Airai.  
At such time, she heard that Seto, the power of Jurai, was visiting the academy. She thought it was her last chance to help Yosho and prepared to meet her. She waited at one of the halls wearing Jurai clothes, which she made from clothes she had gotten from Yosho, till Seto passed. There she met the Princess of Jurai and tried to ask her for help. Seto walked up to her and whispered to Airi.  
"Unfortunately, Jurai and Airai are not on good terms now. Do you not think that as the daughter of Airai, it is not respectable meeting me in such an unofficial place? I do appreciate what you have done for Yosho and wish that someday we can meet officially as Jurai and Airai."  
Seto's force and pressure was enormous, and Airi was ashamed of herself. Mortified, she stood there with tears after Seto and her attendants left.  
However, that night, Seto appeared at Airi's room with her handmade dishes and a cake, which she had made in the restaurant Narsis. (They were delicious. Actually, Seto taught Sasami how to cook! Misaki and Aeka were not as good at cooking, or at least weren't interested in it.) She asked her for dinner and Airi let her in. She told Airi how thankful Funaho was for what she had done for Yosho. She also asked her about her marriage, at which Airi was surprised, as it was a secret. As told in the first novel Jurai, Seto still had the largest information network, even larger than the King of Jurai. She already knew who was to marry her, and told her actually what Goba and others were planning. (I'm not exactly sure, but this fiancee was related to Amaki Kasen. Kasen was to marry with a girl of the Amaki family, one of the Jurai imperial families. This meant that Airai would have a person in one of the imperial families and one day might have a Jurai king. Their object was to get Tsunami.) She also suggested that it was possible to cancel this engagement and said she had a plan to let them withdraw this story. She mentioned that Airi and Yosho would have a chance to defect to the academy.  
"You love Yosho, don't you?" asked Seto. "I have met your father. He is stronger than you think. He can handle the situation."  
"I must leave now," she said and stood up.

She walked to the door and look back to Airi again and said, "You must decide by yourself. Oh, and I recommend you learn cooking in Narsis, Airi-dono.'  
And she left showing a gentle smile.  
After Seto left, Airi became tired and weak, and fell on her bed. She knew that she and Yosho had something in their home which they couldn't leave behind.

And she wept.

Let's get him, Funaho!(part 9)

Half a month later, Yosho came back to the academy. It was the season when the sprouts colored. Airi waved her hand to Yosho at the barren airport, alone.  
"Welcome back, Yosho-kun," she said to Yosho as usual.  
"Nice to meet you again, Airi-dono."

Yosho was the same again as he was whenever he returned from Jurai. They moved to Funaho's bridge.  
"How are you Funaho?" asked Airi.  
Listening to her voice, Funahos puppies suddenly appeared and rushed up to Airi.  
"Ha,ha,ha!' In the young new green grasses and sparkling golden lights of spring, Airi laughed, surrounded with dozens of puppies.  
"Here, Funaho. You too! Oh, please calm down Airi-dono," Yosho pleaded.

To Airi's laughter, Funahos puppies answered like crazy. As Airi's tension rose, the number of the puppies got larger and everything intensified.  
"Hm, it's always like this," said Yosho.  
"Ah, you. Only he is too aloof! Let's get him, Funaho!"

Airi and hundreds, no a thousand puppies jumped at Yosho and licked and tickled him all over. Yosho ran off and they ran after him, finally dropping into a ditch  
"Oh no," deeply sighed Yosho, changing his clothes. Watching this, Airi, disgruntled, called out, "Ah there he goes again! Let's get him, Funaho!"  
"Hey! Please wait a second!"

Yosho tried to stop her hurriedly, but he was a bit late. Airi and the puppies covered him.  
"No, wait. Let's have lunch before that. I'm hungry," Airi said.  
To her words, the puppies stopped at once.  
"Shall we not, Yosho-kun?"  
"Er? Oh, yes. Then let's go to the habitation," replied Yosho crawling out from the puppies. Airi took his hand and pulling him she started to walk.  
"Say, let's eat in my house."  
Airi's house was standing just beneath the large tree which stood in the center of the habitation. There was a small lake beneath the tree and her house was located just 5 meters above it. Yosho used to be thrown into the lake when Airi got angry with him, but this seemed a good memory now.  
Entering her house, she insisted that she would cook for him and went into the kitchen. Yosho knew her skills for cooking and frowned, but the dishes that were served were delicious. The number of the dishes was few, but they tasted close to that of Narsis. What surprised Yosho was that there was also some flavor of Jurai inside them. Airi had practiced hard at cooking, and had learned a lot from Narsis's mistress.  
After the meal, Airi's special attack, the 'Let's get him Funaho!' went on seven times -- Yosho running away, and Airi and Funahos puppies chasing after him. Airi's laughter rang all over the extensive habitation just as loud as the puppy's cry.   
"Let's get him, Funaho!"  
"Wait a second, please! Calm down!"  
Both of them knew they couldn't give up their own country, so they wanted to stay with each other as long as possible in their best place. Time passed, and the sky was colored with red.On the hill, where they could see the sunset, and surrounded by Funahos puppies covering the slope like a carpet, Yosho and Airi watched the sun go down, holding each other. They didn't talk till the sun disappeared into the horizon.  
It was Airi who first started to weep. Having her head on Yosho's shoulder, she gave into her emotions and cried. Yosho let his head lean on hers. No words were needed. Even without any words, their minds thoughts came through the warmth of the other's skin.  
Don't want to part. Separating was too grievous. But they had reasons for which they couldnt be together. But, but . . . But I want to tell you something. A thing which I must tell you in

words. Having her face wet with tears, Airi looked up and looked in his eyes. From her shaking lips, her feeling leaked out.  
"I.. lo.., love you, Yosho."  
And she let her cheek touch and move on Yosho's face, just like a cat showing love. Yosho also joined her, and their lips closed together. Funaho must have taken the hint and the puppies went

away.  
In the silence of the night, only the movement of the grass and their breath was heard.

habitation: As you all know, in the Imperial ships they have an enormous room and the habitation is the place where they live. (Like Aeka's room in OVA 2)

**Ryoko's Assault(part 9, new section)**

A Dark Crystal Ship(part 9)

The King of Jurai, Azusa, was absent, along with the other first and second generation imperial ships, when the Jurain home planet was suddenly assaulted. With the light of their explosions flashing in the sky, the battle ships of Jurai were destroyed easily, and the absolute defense line was broken in no time. For more than 2,000 years there had not been any battles at Jurai and it astonished them to have this line broken. Even a third generation ship had the power to overcome thousands of other normal battle ships. The Jurain defense line should have been invincible, not even several fleets should be able to pass though it. But what was more incredible, they couldn't believe that they were attacked by only one ship.

But it was true. With the sounds of explosions ringing after her, a dark crystalline star ship appeared in the sky just several hundred meters from the planets surface. It stopped at that point and in the next moment, a great impact struck the Tenjyu (The Royal Palace).  
"Damn it. An unrestricted assault!' cried out the commander.  
"The ship has been verified. It's Ryo-oki!"  
"Ryo-oki? The ship they call the Black Destruction!" cried the commander.

The battle between Ryo-oki and Kirito with Azusa was not known among the guard, but still Ryo-oki was famous through the entire galaxy as a space pirate.  
"Myaaon!" A cry like a cat's was heard and then three smaller ships accompanying a fourth generation imperial ship were destroyed, along with the fourth soon after.  
"A fourth generation ship in one shot?" said the astonished commander.  
There was no doubt then. A force had appeared that threatened destruction for Jurai. The dark destroyer colored the sky with red.  
The nearest imperial ship, which had a first or second generation Royal tree, was Yosho's Funaho. He received an emergency call and turned his ship toward Jurai. Still, it would take him five hours to reach the planet. He was surprised at the report that only one ship had broken the defense line. All he knew about Ryo-oki was that it wasn't related to any other pirate guild and it mainly assaulted places with high, old and important cultures, or kidnaped intelligent personnel. Though from this, he could guess that Ryo-oki's objective were the Royal trees.  
"So its Ryo-oki. I will find out if those rumors are true," whispered Yosho. As a son of Jurai, he felt excited.  
A pillar of fire rushed though the sky and three fourth generation imperial ships sank. Ryo-oki continued attacking here and there and moved on. On the bridge, a woman was standing with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. She wore a battle suit in black and red, with emerald-green hair bristling up above golden eyes and three ruby gems; one on her neck and two others on each wrist. Yes, she was in a high anticipation for the battle - the pirate known as Ryoko.  
"Aha,ha,ha,ha,ha! Come on. I'm waiting! Or if your not coming, then I'll come get you!" she crowed.  
Ryo-oki moved toward the area where the ships were gathering.  
"Incredible! A fourth generation ship is the same class as another country's command ship! And we can't stop her with a group of fourth generation ships!" groaned the defense warden, Masaki Tatsua, in the command headquarters. He was delegating the defense system while the imperial families were out. They had tried to contact Amaki Shyuzan who should be near Jurai as he was to return earlier then Yosho, but they were not able reach him (as he had turned off his communications).  
The first surface defense line of Jurai had been broken and Ryo-oki was approaching the second line. She was moving in a zigzag pattern, but it was certain now that she was just playing. Watching this, Tatsua decided to give the command to his first officer and left the room to board his own ship, a third generation ship. There were five third generation imperial ships in Jurai then and he ordered all of them to sally. With the back-up of all fourth generation ships, a bit more than 10 were left, he thought that it was possible to push back Ryo-oki out from Jurai planet back into space. However, at the rendezvous point, only three of the third generations were there. The other two, which were ships of the Amaki family, recommended staying aside to protect the Tenjyu. It was obvious that Shyuzan had ordered them to do so.  
"Are they fools? What can they do with only two ships? Does Shyuzan hate the Masaki family so much?"  
Tatsua hesitated to say this, as usually two ships of a third generation were powerful enough to face anything. It was unbelievable that the imperial ships had been defeated so easily. (Actually the crews of the two ships of Amaki felt afraid of Ryo-oki, and not only the orders of Shyuzan made them stay behind.)  
Ryo-oki was now approaching the Tenjyu, destroying everything ahead of her. There was no time left and Tatsua commanded the other ships to join him moving to intercept. They had a metal outside covering unit on them, which was thought to be presumptuous because a third generation ship for the Imperial family had enough power to defend itself.  
"But it isn't the time to care about such things."  
Tatsua was one of the best warriors, one in whom Seto had great confidence. He didn't make poor decisions based upon his pride, so he changed the plan and commanded the other two ships to move toward Ryo-oki ahead of his own ship. The first step of his strategy had begun. Suddenly lights flashed around Ryo-oki and her sensors were jammed for an instant and she was forced to stop.  
"Huh! Light hawk wings," Ryoko said. "Tsk!"

Ryoko clicked her tongue. She knew about the light hawk wings which Kagato had told her about, and also from the battle with Azusa's Kirito. From the all-around view, three light hawk

wings were seen on both sides, which were generated by the two third generation ships.  
"This doesn't matter a bit!" cried out Ryoko and tried to get away with full power. Then, a huge energy blast compared to the previous attacks struck Ryo-oki. It was the attack from the last third generation ship and other fourth generation ships.  
Watching Ryo-oki pushed step by step back, Tatsua seemed assured of his victory.  
"All right! It's working."  
"Ha,ha,ha. What's this, an attack? Hah, this is far from the power that single ship had. You fools, do you think you can overcome us with such things?" sneered Ryoko in the bridge, which was fully red with the attack.

The next moment, Tatsua's ship shook.  
"What? Incredible! What unbelievable power this is! All ships concentrate fire on Ryo-oki,

now!"  
The Jurai ships continued their full attack on Ryo-oki, but it was all repelled.

"Fending this attack so easily... the only force that could do such a thing is... that can fend off the concentrated attacks of the third and fourth generation ships could only be the power of the light hawk wings," shouted Tatsua.

Then the two royal trees of the ships that were holding Ryo-oki shrieked and were swept by a torrential power. Ryoko, who was watching this from the bridge with her arms crossed, grinned.

"It seems that it's a waste of time playing with you. OK, Ryo-oki, let's go."  
"Myaaon."

The cry of Ryo-oki spread though the sky of Jurai and suddenly the attack from the three third generation ships stopped, as if they were influenced by this cry.  
"What happened? Why are we not firing?" Tatsua demanded.  
"I don't know sir. All units are working normally!"'  
"What?"  
Shouting orders, Tatsua found that the fire had been stopped by the will of the Royal trees.  
"How can it be? Those who can carry out such a thing are those who have a higher generation Royal tree! It can't be true!"  
Tatsua tried to deny this, as the Royal tree was like a god to them. With the power of the trees, Jurai had been able to become an enormous empire.  
"I won't admit it! I absolutely can't admit it! If such a thing is possible, Jurai is finished!"  
The possibility of the presence of someone having superior power to the Royal trees was a fact that couldn't be admitted. The Royal trees must be an absolute existence. Ryo-oki must be defeated, even though he had to sacrifice his own ship and himself.  
"This ship is a third generation ship. If we can defeat Ryo-oki by sacrificing this ship, it means that Ryo-oki only had the same power as this one."

For his lord Azusa and for his country, and moreover, for his own faith, he made the ship dive into Ryo-oki. With the light hawk wings expanded in front of the ship they charged. Striking the light hawk wings at Ryo-oki, it should be possible to break though her shields and destroy her. This was the only plan that was left.  
But unfortunately, his faith was broken by Ryo-oki.  
"Myaaonn!"

Again Ryo-oki cried out. Listening to this cry, the light hawk wings of Tatsua's ship vanished and at the same moment the controls of the ship didn't work. The ship shook under a heavy blast.  
"Captain, the ship won't last any longer! Please evacuate!"  
Tatsua ignored this operator's advice and roared.

"Why? Why? Wh---y?"

No one could answer nor even hear this question. Tatsua's ship dropped down as it burned.

Ryu-ouh(part 10)

The fires of Ryo-oki were concentrated on the Tenjyu now, and it was on fire. A girl was running out from one of the rooms of Masaki family. Dark purple hair bound up in two strips behind and with a distinguished face, Masaki Aeka Jurai was her name. She had been scheduled to go on a trip with her father, Azusa, but the ceremony of choosing her Royal tree, Ryu-ouh had taken place just before it, so she decided to stay behind with her younger sister, Sasami. It was natural for a Jurain that this ceremony was more important than anything else, as its glory was with the Royal tree.  
"What is this all about? What is the defense force doing? Oh, then I will go out myself!" said Aeka, and she walked though the halls while the attendants tried to stop her.  
"Please, Aeka-sama, do not go!"  
"My Ryu-ouh is the only second generation ship in Jurai," insisted Aeka.  
"But your highness has just finished assimilating with Ryu-ouh. The tuning of the external armor has not been completed."  
"Still, what can I say to father and oni-sama if I let that shameful pirate ravage our home?"  
Then, even though Ryu-ouh had just finished loading its extended armor and hadn't even done its maiden voyage, Aeka didn't listen to them and launched her ship.

Ryoko found Ryu-ouh taking off from part of Tenjyu through Ryo-oki's monitor. She sensed that this ship, blowing up the dock's door and closing the distance between them, was different from other ships she had fought.  
"Is that so? An incommensurable power compared to the last guys. I think I can have fun now," grinned Ryoko.   
Though the tactics of Ryo-oki wouldn't change, just bash all of them who were in their way, that's all.  
Aeka's Ryu-ouh extracted her light hawk wings and fended off Ryo-oki's energy blasts.

Ryu-ouh tried to return fire at Ryo-oki, but all of the shots were reflected.

Aeka had just finished the selection ceremony and didn't have the key to help her connect with Ryu-ouh. Also her ship had just equipped, thus was not fully synchronized with the external armor, so Aeka and Ryu-ouh could not fully control the power of the Royal tree. But Aeka did not give up.  
"I can handle this!" said Aeka and continued the battle. However, she could not help the situation just by defending herself. It was only by virtue of the second generation Royal tree's power that she could hold off the attack, and it was also because Ryo-oki and Ryoko were just teasing her and not fighting with full power.  
"Hey, come on! You were trying to get me, weren't you?" Ryoko taunted.  
Ryokos heart was racing with excitement, but she noticed that this ship was different than the previous battle ships and she had to be careful or might be damaged. Numerous beams stroke Ryu-ouh and she reflected all of them with her light hawk wings, though one of them hit the Tenjyu where Aeka's best garden existed.  
"My favorite garden! You.. I won't forgive you, you pirate!" screamed Aeka.  
"Oh, yeah? So that's your favorite garden? Ha,ha,ha," laughed Ryoko and purposely fired on that area. The flowers and trees in the garden, which Aeka loved, burned down in no time.  
"No. Stop it! That garden is the place for Yosho oni-sama and me. Please stop it!" Having the special place for her and Yosho destroyed, Aeka cried out in tears and she ordered Ryu-ouh to attack Ryo-oki with all her powers. She decided to use the light hawk wings to attack, and the wings, which were extracted for defense, gathered at the center and pointed

at Ryo-oki.  
"Burn you!" cried out Aeka, but suddenly the unit controller overloaded. The external armor was not able to bear the power of the Royal tree and it ruptured spreading beams all over the area. The shower of the beams destroyed things all around, and one of the shots crashed into her garden from below.  
"Oh no--!" cried Aeka, watching the garden fall down from the Tenjyu. The garden was on one of the branches, though its size was huge and it crashed into those underneath. One of the beams also scratched Ryo-oki and shook her, which no other ship had been able to do.  
"Oh, she is scary. She really is a princess of a pirate nation. Haha! So frightful when she loses her control. Okay, I'll leave her to you, Ryo-oki," grinned Ryoko and teleported from the bridge and got inside the Tenjyu through the spot Aeka had destroyed.  
But the Jurai warriors were well trained. They found Ryoko and 10 warriors rushed toward her. But they stopped in surprise as something else came into view.

"Oh, my god!"  
Behind Ryoko, there was a monster having four red eyes and sharp teeth. Just as her name says, Ryo-ko (Ryo is for devils and Ko is for call or summon), she was able to summon devils. This one appeared in tune with Ryoko's high exhilaration caused by the battle.

The Voice of the Gems(part 11)

"Oh, please, Aeka-sama! Stop your fire. The Tenjyu will not hold long!"

Aeka had fallen down from the shaking and was on the floor when she heard this voice coming into the bridge. She looked up into the monitor and found Tatsua there. He was safe, as the Royal tree protected the core unit and the crew with it, though the ship sank. Aeka looked at him in relief and confusion.

"Uncle Tatsua, I cannot stop it! The external armor has been ruptured."  
"Explode your armor and release it! Hurry!"  
As told by Tatsua, Aeka released the armor. However, as it was over loaded, the armor started to burst having no place to release its energy. Because the explosion happened just near Ryu-ouh, its view was blinded and made it possible for Ryo-oki to approach her. Aeka saw Ryo-oki covering the whole screen and shivered.

"The light hawk wings are gone! Kyaaaaa, Yosho-oni-sama----!"  
Just when Ryo-oki tried to fire on Ryu-ouh, she shook violently. The next moment the enormous sound of an explosion was heard. A ship appeared from out of the clouds. It erupted into Jurais atmosphere from space without any reverse thrust, accompanied by an air blast that was made to directly strike Ryo-oki with the ships light hawk wings. Yosho and Funaho had arrived.  
"Is it you, Yosho-oni-sama?" cried Aeka.  
"Aeka, get away!" called Yosho to Aeka and fired several beams toward Ryo-oki as a feint. He knew Ryo-oki would evade them, but he managed to let Aeka get away from the Tenjyu.

Then a call came from Tatsua.  
"Yosho-sama! An intruder in the Tenjyu!"

"So this ship is just a decoy. I am coming!"  
They had no time to waste. A serious problem for Jurai was happening, and Yosho had to solve it. However, if he tried to transport to the Tenjyu, it was obvious that Ryo-oki would attack him at that point. He was compelled to distance himself from Ryo-oki and enter the Tenjyu from the opposite side from where Ryoko entered.  
"All right. I will leave her to you, Funaho!" said Yosho when he was just to transport. Funaho turned toward Ryo-oki, who was coming after them, and fired at her. The two ships started to battle without their masters, and it shook the entire Tenjyu.  
Watching this, Tatsua breathed again. It was natural for him to feel so as the strongest ship in Jurai, a first generation ship, had arrived. Aeka felt the same way, but in her case she felt so because she had her lovely brother there. That strong and brave warrior would never lose against that pirate. Never. Aeka believed from her soul that Yosho would, without doubt, win.

Ryoko had defeated the warriors of Jurai and had reached her destination, the hall of the Royal trees, where the thing she was looking for rested.  
"So, that's the entrance!"  
She blasted several energy balls, but the gate of the hall of the Royal trees hadn't even been scratched.  
"Then, how about this!"  
When she tried to throw a larger energy blast against it, the gems at her neck and wrists began to glow. Ryoko screamed in agony. Pain, which she had never experienced, came over her. It was worse than the punishment of Kagato, which he inflicted on her when she disobeyed his

orders.  
"What, what is this?" Scratching her throat with pain, Ryoko glowered at the gate.

Beyond that gate, far below at the bottom, fallen from above, Sasami was laying in the dark of another space. From her, who would obviously be dead soon, blood ran in a great pool until a drop of it touched the surface of the clean water. At the center of the waters surface stood a small tree. Not a first or second-generation tree, but the primogenitor of the Royal trees. The tree of Tsunami was standing there.  
"What are -- you doing -- Tsunami?" Ryoko whispered, almost losing consciousness from the pain, the instant Sasamis blood touched the water  
**_I am going to keep my promise -- to my friend_** a voice answered.  
The moment when Sasami's lips moved slightly, her body turned into small light drops and was absorbed into Tsunami and the water surface which was calm started to swirl. Sasami and Tsunami, both of their minds started to assimilate and in the swirl a new body was structured. The sub-space, which Tsunami was generating, was then just as a mothers womb.

Completely in a trance condition and thrown from her own mind, Ryoko continued, "Let us meet again, Tsunami."  
And Ryoko fainted, while coming up behind her was Yosho.  
"So you must be Ryoko. I am Prince Yosho. This is not a place you may enter. Clear off now or . . . " Yosho warned her.

Finding Ryoko not answering him, he drew his sword and slashed at her. Ryoko avoided it unconsciously. Noticing Ryoko's unnatural movement, Yosho halted his attack for a moment while Ryoko, with her eyes closed, held her hands up against him and prepared for the next attack. "Damn."  
Energy balls flew all over the hall and Yosho was caught up in the explosion. But it was Ryoko who was blown outside of the Tenjyu by the explosion. Falling down from the Tenjyu, she woke up.  
"What -- what am I doing?"  
**_Tsunami unit can't be possessed anymore._**  
"What?"  
Someone was talking to her in her head. The same someone who had told her that the figure which appeared in the battle between Ryoko and Azusa was Tsunami (in "Jurai"). It was a voice not from Ryoko's heart, but from the three gems immersed in her. Ryoko sometimes felt a will in these gems.  
**_There is nothing that I can do here now._**  
"What do you mean?"  
**_Go._**  
"Damn! Ryo-oki!"  
After the sound and flash of the explosion ended, Yosho found himself without a scratch. When he came to the exit of the hole that Ryoko had made, he found Ryo-oki rising up into the sky, having drawn Ryoko drawn within.  
"So quick she is. But...," said Yosho and in the next moment he was calling for Funaho. Just then, Aeka exited Ryu-ouh and rushed up to him.  
"Yosho oni-sama!"  
"I will go to capture Ryoko."  
These were the last word between Yosho and Aeka.

After this, Yosho got on his ship and went after Ryoko. Before he left Jurai, he declared that all responsibility for this incident was his own, not Tatsua's. While he felt the possibility of death in the battle with Ryoko, he also felt a joy in the struggle. Relief might have been what he felt.

He didn't dislike his days in Jurai trying to protect his mother, but still he couldn't help feeling that it was also a restraint on him.  
And Aeka.  
The way the young girl looked at him wasn't love, but was almost as if she was wishing for his protection, a love in love, and it was heavy for him. Still, even after she had grown up, her eyes hadn't changed their longing for his comfort. Whenever she told him about their marriage, Yosho's heart was filled with apology and pain. Nodding a bit was all he could do.  
"Poor Aeka."  
In the bridge of Funaho, Yosho said the exact same words that Airi had once said about him

before. Airi had healed his heart toward Misaki, but Aeka would probably never be able to heal his heart toward Airi. No matter how deeply he loved Aeka, she was just a sister to him. And what was ironic was that Aeka herself was making him feel so.

Ryoko's Mind(part 12)

Failure to acquire the Tsunami unit. Ah. So what would Kagato say about it?  
_Just report to him the truth, that's all_, thought Ryoko. _It doesn't matter what he thinks about it. It is he who must think about it. I'm just his tool. Tools don't need emotions._  
Kagato had lectured her on only the necessary things to help her act as an accurate tool that

obeyed and executed his orders. However, having contact with the outside world had brought her more information than that. One day, an identity was born in her, and at the same time, emotions began to appear in her too.  
In the beginning, Ryoko didn't feel guilty about killing people. Not that she had done meaningless slaughter. She didn't have the emotions for joy in murder and, what is more, Kagato didn't allow her to do so because he thought that act, which wasn't related to the purpose, wasn't efficient.  
But as time passed, Ryoko began to anticipate the orders from Kagato. It was the budding of her identity. She began to desire the demonstration of other's emotions. In one meaning, it was the time when she was most heartless to those who were in her way. Though she stopped this eventually. Anger, hate and fear -- the emotions toward her were always the same.  
"Im bored with it. They always show the same expressions."  
At this time, Kagato didn't care about her actions, as long as she carried out his orders.  
Ryoko sometimes felt that to him, her emotions were a research matter. But she was never allowed to refuse his commands.  
"It is pointless to try and do so. I hate complicated and troublesome matters."  
She could see the marionette strings twining all over her.  
Actually, obeying Kagato's orders caused her emotions to cool and prevented their growth.  
But Ryoko's heart desired emotions. Those who are apathetic seek for sensation and pleasure, and try all kinds of things.

Drugs: had no effect on her. As soon as they got inside her, it was resolved in no time and she didn't like such things, which had the scent of rotten people.  
Relish: as her taste was poor, she was frustrated. Eating until she was full was enough for her. She could be drunk if she used force to preserve the alcohol in her.  
Sex: she had done quite a lot of things, but as she became famous everyone ran away. And even though she had hidden her identity, her eyes made them wilt and it became too troublesome for her. The methods of directly influencing the mind though optic, audiogenic and tactile ways didn't work, as there was some protection on her brain. Because of this, sex didn't give her much pleasure. Masturbation was the same.

Instead, destruction gave her many times more joy. If she just destroyed things, the expressions were plenty: those who were concerned, or protecting, or running away, or just a rabble. She never felt danger, nor actually was in danger. To Ryoko killing was easy and seemed nothing but a play. The better the destruction, the more fun she had.  
Ryoko recalled Aeka who showed her anger baldly toward her in Jurai.  
"That girl was nice. She made me laugh."  
It had been long since she last smiled.  
In the next moment, Ryoko was laughing loudly.

The Council(part 13)

After Ryoko and Yosho had left and were lost on Earth, a formal council was held in Jurai by the king and the four imperial families. It was the Masaki family that was first blamed for letting Ryoko invade Jurai and was to take the responsibility. As Yosho had declared that all commands were under his own, it was natural that Shyuzan took this chance to gain advantage. Utsumi and Seto didn't concern themselves with this as they thought this was the kings problem and not theirs. However, finally Seto remarked that Shyuzan was the closest ship at the time and it was a shame that he wasn't able to be in contact then. Shyuzan wasn't able to continue the debate and the council was over.  
Later, an unofficial meeting was held by Azusa, Funaho, Misaki and Seto, unofficially this was Jurais highest council. The main topic was What exactly is Ryo-oki? Among the four, the battle between Kirito and Ryo-oki and the truth that it had the same or perhaps a larger power than the first generation trees was known. Furthermore, "Who is Kagato?" and "What are these three-gems, which seemed to be the energy sources of Ryoko and Ryo-oki?" were questions to be discussed. Many others might have forgotten during the long days of peace, but the power of the first generation trees was supposedly invincible. It was hard to believe that one ship had been able to outclass Kirito and Funaho.  
"Tatsua is a great warrior. The report he made is a levelheaded and correct assessment. We have reached the same analysis results as his," said Seto sending the files to the others.  
"As I thought, Ryoko and Ryo-oki have the power to overcome the first generation ships. Seto-dono, do you think that there might be any possible connection between Ryoko, Ryo-oki and Tsunami?" asked Azusa.  
"Damn! That was today's news..."  
Having Azusa get the point, Seto became sulky. As mother and daughter, Seto and Misaki looked very much like each other. Sighing, Azusa continued.  
"The fact that all the third generation ships in Jurai hesitated to fire and the fact that the fourth generation ships, which do not have a will, also delayed before attacking drew my attention. There is only one possible explanation for this; the opponent was in a higher generation than them. Actually, when I confronted Ryo-oki long ago, the attack against her was slightly delayed. At that time I thought it was the injury that caused the convection delay from my mind to Kirito and I did not report it to you, Seto-dono. If it is true that even the first generation ships hesitate to attack, there is no possibility except Tsunami. Well, as it is you, Seto-dono, I'm sure you have more news. If not, you would not have summoned the High Council today."  
"Oh, Azusa-chan. You are getting more boring these days," sighed Seto, disappointed. "To tell the truth, I commanded an investigation of Ryoko and Ryo-oki be made the moment I received Azusa-dono's report years ago. Since we possess the powerful ships of the Royal tree, Ryoko is not so well-known in Jurai. However, for other star territories and nations, they have been a serious threat."  
"With that kind of power, it is natural."  
"There is one more thing. She mainly procured the information of the prehistoric civilization by collecting the findings and assaulting the relics. In Jurai, there are few such things and this is one of the reasons why she is not widely known here. It seems Ryo-oki was not manufactured by some nation or organization. At least, not one we know of."  
"That means Kagato himself does not belong to any nation or organization," said Azusa.

"Then, are you saying that an individual developed such a thing?" asked Misaki.  
"I have a few more facts. I could only retrograde to 5,000 years ago for the profile of a person named Kagato. I do not know anything before he was assigned as an A level criminal. Though that was the most important problem.'  
"As a level A, what did he do?"  
"A fool from another territory was poaching in a preservation area. Kagato extinguished this whole expedition -- by himself."  
Listening to Seto's words, the others were quiet.   
"But what is important is that there was a person on that planet for the purpose of preservation research. Who do you think it was?" asked Seto, in a joyful tone.  
"Mother, you?" pointed Misaki instantly. There was no surprise. Seto seemed always connected with such colorful incidents.  
"Ouch!" cried Misaki as Seto thwacked her.  
"You see, the person who was there..." continued Seto, building the suspense.  
The others looked at each other in bewilderment, except for Misaki who was weeping with a bump on her head.  
"The name of the person who was there was, Hakubi Washu," said Seto pompously, and to her words, Funaho showed round-eyed surprise.  
"Washu? The person who founded the Galaxy Academy? That oddball?'  
"That academy, which was the Royal Academy," said Azusa.  
"Yes, and the assistant researcher who was working with Washu in the preservation area on that planet was Kagato," answered Seto, and showed them a photograph of Washu with her assistant. But in the photo it was the face of a woman.  
Stroking his chin, Azusa said in wonder.  
"She looks different from the person I met. But they should be the same."  
"For Kagato," continued Seto, "who was Washu's assistant, we have confirmation. He had no connection to any organization."  
"But mother, I have seen this face somewhere," said Misaki, who was staring into the picture.  
"I suppose you are talking about this person."  
Seto opened another photograph on the screen. This one was also Washu and Kagato together.  
"What is it about this photo?" asked Misaki looking at Seto.  
"The expression of Washu-san," quietly said Funaho. As she said, Washu looked completely different in the two photos. In one, her face was firm and strained, and in the other she looked calm and peaceful.  
"These two with Washu are different?"  
"Yes. The latter one was Washu's friend, Akara Naja. Kagato is said to be her clone."  
"What happened to the original?"  
"About 5,000 years ago, she was attacked by pirates while she was working on relics on desert planet K1190 and was killed. Well, they could not find her body, so she is actually lost, but from the investigation she won't be alive. I heard that she was a great philosopher equal to Washu."  
"K1190 means that mother, you were..."  
To Misaki's words, Seto nodded.  
"Yes. It is the planet where my foster father found and saved me when I was six years old."  
"You were found?' asked Azusa in surprise.

"Not only the research group of Akara Najya was there, but also other treasure hunters were on that planet. My foster father, Kamiki Ushio, wiped out the pirates and saved the survivors. I lost my memory in the shock caused by the attack, but I was a bereaved child of a treasure hunter," explained Seto with a sad smile, but in the next moment she turned back to her normal face. "But that is that. The problem now is about this Washu-san. 20,000 years ago she was found in front of an orphanage, left behind on one of the planets in Jurai territory. And -- well, it is the same old story. She was three years old when adopted, but she did not remember anything before then, so nothing is known about her origin. She tried many things to find out about her past and who she was, but it seems that she failed. Though, there is one thing that interests me."  
Displayed on the monitor were three gems.  
Dubiously looking at them, Azusa asked Seto, "What are these?"  
"When she was found, these were the only things she possessed. It was natural that they did not pay much attention to these childish possessions, but they should have," said Seto, who touched her panel and displayed the picture of Ryoko on the sub-monitor.  
"From the data of the battle in Jurai and from the data of the Galaxy Police data bank, we know now that the power source of Ryoko and Ryo-oki are located mainly at Ryoko's wrists and her throat. But look closer."  
The three points were magnified.  
"See this!"  
All others gasped in surprise. There shown on the display was what looked like the three gems that Washu had held as a child.

Seto continued.  
"I do not know if these are the exact same gems that Washu had, but taken or copied, they must be the same things. I regret so much time has passed. Oh, maybe I can just ask Tsunami."  
"Which means that the answer exists in her past, doesn't it?" said Funaho.  
"I have so far found nothing related to these gems in the 15,000 years till she vanished. But she has done so many things that one can hardly try. I should say that she is the greatest person I have ever heard of. In her policies, I feel a consistency and strategy. But this is my impression. And also there is no sign that she had any influence from outside."  
_Your impressions are the most confident facts, and that is why it is so bothersome_, thought

Azusa.  
"Consequently, I would say that Washu's assistant is just using her private inventions. I do not see any indication of the worst situation -- so far. It seems that other countries have not taken it so seriously too."  
"If they knew about what happened in Jurai, the situation would change."  
"From the simulation results, the county that has the highest possibility of acquiring them is Jurai. To be precise, the Royal trees. For other nations, they would need to carry out a large attack to get them. And the larger it is, the easier it will be to catch their movements, and the easier to intercept them."  
"You seem to enjoy this, mother."  
"Probably most of the countries would destroy them if they could not acquire them rather than let us have them. Anyway, we must know where Ryoko and Kagato are."  
Azusa nodded to this and said, "About Ryoko, the worst situation, that the military balance would be destroyed, seems to be avoided. The matter is now how we can gain the technology before other nations do. All right then, please continue your investigation on them, Seto-dono,

Misaki."  
"You know, this profile of Washu, a man made it up into a humorous biography and it is quite enjoyable. Please have a look."  
The first meeting of the high council over Ryoko ended here.  
However, they were not able to find out where Ryoko and Yosho had disappeared. Earth also was visited by the investigative team, though they had no chance to break through the concealment faculty of the first generation Royal tree, Funaho, and came back in vain.

**Glossary**

KARIN : They call the scale type clouds this on Jurai.

KAKI : A common Japanese fruit. Azusa brought it from Earth when they left.

SEIZA: An official and polite way of sitting used in Asia. You fold your knees and sit on your legs nice and neat. It hurts until you get use to it. (-)

AIRAI: The largest religion in the galaxy. This religion had spread all over the galaxy and the number of its members surpassed the population of the largest country. Before one million years ago, it was only one of the religions of a single country. However, the discovery of a single fact had changed the situation and the number of its members exploded in no time.  
The fact was related to those relics that existed on planets all over the galaxy. Each relic was related to some religion and were made by outsiders. From these relics, the natives made up new religions of their own.  
After the Galaxy Academy was founded, many nations started to communicate with each other and from this the researchers of the Academy discovered that all of these relics, existing on each planet, were of a common origin. The question was, 'Who had built these relics?' Of course, this question not only interested the researchers, but also the natives of each planet. They started to announce that they were the origin of this original religion. As time passed, this debate was amplified and sometimes war broke out between them. 1000 years later, a research team lead by Washu found the roots of the relics. That planet was Airai. All the religions derived from the relics were all related to the religion Airai. For this reason, this religion spread all over the galaxy in no time.  
Another important fact is the relationship between Airai and Jurai. In almost all the great powers, an outpost of Airai existed. Of course, in Jurai they had the freedom to choose what religion to believe in, and as a collective of dozens of nations, there were many religions in Jurai when it first started. However, in the present, all of the religions had disappeared and only few were left as a part of Jurais customs. This included the largest religion Airai, too. There were almost none that believed in Airai on Jurai.

There were several reasons for this. One is that, as Jurai was formed by colonists, it was rare for them to find any new relic and make a new religion. Another is that as Jurai was located far from Airai, scarcely any relics existed. However, the largest reason was that they had their own distinct object to worship. It was the Royal trees, all born from the primogenitor Tsunami. The formless god of Airai and an existing god of Jurai. It was natural that Jurai would not accept the religion of Airai.  
However, the definition of god here was different than that which the Earthlings such as Tenchi believed in. The god they said was awe to nature, alien who had the technique of flying between stars, a different dimensional life form and a high dimensional intelligent life form. In this point, what they call god is not the same as what a prime-intelligent life form believes in. Among these, the high dimensional intelligent life form has an overpowering force even now where advanced science has developed and they were known as gods.

Due to the existence of the Royal tree, the manifold religions, which existed in the prime age of Jurai, converted to Royal tree worship after several hundred thousand years. It was natural that the people of Airai took an adverse position to Jurai and called them heretics. Recently, some of the hardcore started to forbid the imperial ships of Jurai from entering their territory. In Jurai also, some started to insist that they must reprise this action. The relationship between Airai and Jurai was very complicated. Airi and Yosho met each other during such a time.


End file.
